A community-based modified sport program for rural community-dwelling older adults : a pilot study
- Romein, Jake, Hutchins, Gabrielle, Ottrey, Ella, Talpey, Scott, Bishop, Jaclyn
- Authors: Romein, Jake , Hutchins, Gabrielle , Ottrey, Ella , Talpey, Scott , Bishop, Jaclyn
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Rural Health Vol. 32, no. 3 (2024), p. 488-497
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Introduction: With Australiaʼs ageing population, especially in rural regions, promoting physical activity among older adults is crucial. Objective: To identify factors influencing participation of older adults (60 years or over) from a rural community in a modified sport program and assess satisfaction with a pilot modified sport program informed by these findings. Design: Insights and ideas from two focus groups exploring community perspectives on a modified sport program informed the development of a six-week pilot modified sport program delivered with the local fitness centre. Post-program surveys assessed participant satisfaction, willingness to continue, and likelihood of recommending the program to others. Findings: Nine participants attended the focus groups, highlighting increased social connection, health management, and healthy ageing as key motivators. Joint and health concerns, cost, and time constraints emerged as main barriers. Preferences for the program included weekly sessions, alternating sports, indoor venues, and supporting modifications, but maintaining traditional rules. Thirteen participants participated in the pilot modified sport program. There was strong program attendance (86%). All participants (13/13) rated their satisfaction as very satisfied. They were highly likely to recommend the program to others (8.5/10) and were interested in continuing modified sport after the pilot (7.7/10). Discussion: This study demonstrates for the first time that modified sport is of interest to older people in the rural setting, and that delivering such a program is feasible in a small community. Rural communities implementing modified sport should consider the availability of suitable facilities and equipment, access to an engaging facilitator and participant cost. Conclusion: Through a strong connection between the health service and community fitness centre, a modified sport program was developed and implemented, well-attended and enjoyed by participants in a rural community. © 2024 National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.
Sustaining rural pharmacy workforce understanding key attributes for enhanced retention and recruitment
- Terry, Daniel, Peck, Blake, Hills, Danny, Bishop, Jaclyn, Kirschbaum, Mark, Obamiro, Kehinde, Phan, Hoang, Baker, Ed, Schmitz, David
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Peck, Blake , Hills, Danny , Bishop, Jaclyn , Kirschbaum, Mark , Obamiro, Kehinde , Phan, Hoang , Baker, Ed , Schmitz, David
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Rural Health Vol. 31, no. 2 (2023), p. 218-229
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- Description: Objective: To pilot the Pharmacist Community Apgar Questionnaire (PharmCAQ) and evaluate its usability and capacity to develop a greater understanding of the unique factors that impact the rural recruitment and retention of pharmacists. Design: Cross-sectional design involving face-to-face, telephone or video conferencing interviews. Setting: Twelve rural communities across Tasmania and Western Victoria, Australia. Participants: Participants (n = 24) included pharmacists, a Director of Clinical Services, pharmacy practice managers and senior pharmacy assistants. Main Outcome Measures: Interviews enabled the completion of the PharmCAQ, which assigns quantitative values to 50 key factors to ascertain a community's strengths and challenges associated with recruitment and retention and their relative importance to the pharmacist workforce. Results: The cumulative PharmCAQ scores indicated the tool was sensitive enough to differentiate high- and low-performing communities. Overall, the highest-rated factors considered most vital to pharmacist recruitment and retention were the reputation of the pharmacy, the ability of the pharmacist to be independent and autonomous, the loyalty of the community to the pharmacy, the level and stability of monetary compensation and the breadth of tasks available to a pharmacist. Conclusions: This study identified the strengths and challenges of participating communities and provided an insight into the shared factors to consider in recruiting and retaining pharmacists. Further, each community has unique strengths that can further be promoted in recruitment, flagging where limited resources are best used to address site specific challenges. This is more likely to ensure the matching of the right candidate with the right community. © 2022 The Authors. Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Peck, Blake , Hills, Danny , Bishop, Jaclyn , Kirschbaum, Mark , Obamiro, Kehinde , Phan, Hoang , Baker, Ed , Schmitz, David
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Rural Health Vol. 31, no. 2 (2023), p. 218-229
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: To pilot the Pharmacist Community Apgar Questionnaire (PharmCAQ) and evaluate its usability and capacity to develop a greater understanding of the unique factors that impact the rural recruitment and retention of pharmacists. Design: Cross-sectional design involving face-to-face, telephone or video conferencing interviews. Setting: Twelve rural communities across Tasmania and Western Victoria, Australia. Participants: Participants (n = 24) included pharmacists, a Director of Clinical Services, pharmacy practice managers and senior pharmacy assistants. Main Outcome Measures: Interviews enabled the completion of the PharmCAQ, which assigns quantitative values to 50 key factors to ascertain a community's strengths and challenges associated with recruitment and retention and their relative importance to the pharmacist workforce. Results: The cumulative PharmCAQ scores indicated the tool was sensitive enough to differentiate high- and low-performing communities. Overall, the highest-rated factors considered most vital to pharmacist recruitment and retention were the reputation of the pharmacy, the ability of the pharmacist to be independent and autonomous, the loyalty of the community to the pharmacy, the level and stability of monetary compensation and the breadth of tasks available to a pharmacist. Conclusions: This study identified the strengths and challenges of participating communities and provided an insight into the shared factors to consider in recruiting and retaining pharmacists. Further, each community has unique strengths that can further be promoted in recruitment, flagging where limited resources are best used to address site specific challenges. This is more likely to ensure the matching of the right candidate with the right community. © 2022 The Authors. Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.
The pharmacy community apgar questionnaire : a modified Delphi technique to develop a rural pharmacist recruitment and retention tool
- Terry, Daniel, Peck, Blake, Hills, Danny, Bishop, Jaclyn, Kirschbaum, Mark, Obamiro, Kehinde, Phan, Hoang, Baker, Ed, Schmitz, David
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Peck, Blake , Hills, Danny , Bishop, Jaclyn , Kirschbaum, Mark , Obamiro, Kehinde , Phan, Hoang , Baker, Ed , Schmitz, David
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and remote health Vol. 22, no. 4 (2022), p. 7347
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- Description: INTRODUCTION: An adequate healthcare workforce remains essential for the health of rural communities. Strategies to address rural health workforce challenges have often centred on the medical and nursing workforce; however, addressing the rural pharmacist workforce also remains critical as they are often the first point of contact for health advice. Initiatives have increased pharmacist supply; however, key issues such as poor attraction, recruitment, and retention to rural areas remain. The aim of this study was to support the recruitment and retention of pharmacists in rural areas of Australia through the development of the Pharmacy Community Apgar Questionnaire (PharmCAQ). METHODS: A modified Delphi technique was employed to develop the PharmCAQ. A panel of experts were purposively selected. Eight representatives were from organisations with rural experience relevant to the study including the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Pharmacy Board of Australia, and a representative of a government health agency, who also leads a hospital pharmacy. Three additional participants included local and international academics with health policy and rural health workforce expertise. All participants participated in three separate focus groups of 45-60 minutes duration, where the review and refinement of factors that drive recruitment and retention of pharmacist were discussed. Face and content validity was achieved through the representatives, while internal consistency was achieved when the tool was piloted among 10 rural pharmacists in rural Victoria. RESULTS: Fifty key factors that impact the recruitment and retention of pharmacists were identified, developed and succinctly described. All factors were grouped into five classifications: (1) geographic, (2) economic and resources, (3) practice and scope of practice, (4) practice environment and (5) community practice support. After final consensus, the factors and their definitions formed the final questionnaire. Lastly, the reliability of PharmCAQ was determined, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.852. CONCLUSION: While the development and use of the Apgar questionnaire for the recruitment and retention of health professionals is not a novel idea, seeking to specifically focus on pharmacists is unique. However, 10 factors were similar to factors associated with rural recruitment and retention of both physicians and nurses; they encompassed geographic, community support, and economic and resource factors. Regardless of similarities or differences between health professions in terms of recruitment and retention, as a mechanism for addressing the worsening health professional shortage currently experienced in rural areas, the PharmCAQ was developed to support the recruitment and retention of the pharmacist workforce in rural areas.
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Peck, Blake , Hills, Danny , Bishop, Jaclyn , Kirschbaum, Mark , Obamiro, Kehinde , Phan, Hoang , Baker, Ed , Schmitz, David
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and remote health Vol. 22, no. 4 (2022), p. 7347
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: INTRODUCTION: An adequate healthcare workforce remains essential for the health of rural communities. Strategies to address rural health workforce challenges have often centred on the medical and nursing workforce; however, addressing the rural pharmacist workforce also remains critical as they are often the first point of contact for health advice. Initiatives have increased pharmacist supply; however, key issues such as poor attraction, recruitment, and retention to rural areas remain. The aim of this study was to support the recruitment and retention of pharmacists in rural areas of Australia through the development of the Pharmacy Community Apgar Questionnaire (PharmCAQ). METHODS: A modified Delphi technique was employed to develop the PharmCAQ. A panel of experts were purposively selected. Eight representatives were from organisations with rural experience relevant to the study including the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Pharmacy Board of Australia, and a representative of a government health agency, who also leads a hospital pharmacy. Three additional participants included local and international academics with health policy and rural health workforce expertise. All participants participated in three separate focus groups of 45-60 minutes duration, where the review and refinement of factors that drive recruitment and retention of pharmacist were discussed. Face and content validity was achieved through the representatives, while internal consistency was achieved when the tool was piloted among 10 rural pharmacists in rural Victoria. RESULTS: Fifty key factors that impact the recruitment and retention of pharmacists were identified, developed and succinctly described. All factors were grouped into five classifications: (1) geographic, (2) economic and resources, (3) practice and scope of practice, (4) practice environment and (5) community practice support. After final consensus, the factors and their definitions formed the final questionnaire. Lastly, the reliability of PharmCAQ was determined, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.852. CONCLUSION: While the development and use of the Apgar questionnaire for the recruitment and retention of health professionals is not a novel idea, seeking to specifically focus on pharmacists is unique. However, 10 factors were similar to factors associated with rural recruitment and retention of both physicians and nurses; they encompassed geographic, community support, and economic and resource factors. Regardless of similarities or differences between health professions in terms of recruitment and retention, as a mechanism for addressing the worsening health professional shortage currently experienced in rural areas, the PharmCAQ was developed to support the recruitment and retention of the pharmacist workforce in rural areas.
Understanding rural pharmacists' perspectives : lived experiences and insights associated with rural recruitment and retention
- Terry, Daniel, Peck, Blake, Phan, Hoang, Hills, Danny, Bishop, Jaclyn, Kirschbaum, Mark, Obamiro, Kehinde, Baker, Ed, Schmitz, David
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Peck, Blake , Phan, Hoang , Hills, Danny , Bishop, Jaclyn , Kirschbaum, Mark , Obamiro, Kehinde , Baker, Ed , Schmitz, David
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and remote health Vol. 24, no. 1 (2024), p. 8687
- Full Text:
- Description: INTRODUCTION: Pharmacists serve an important role in rural communities, and in some cases they may be the only health professional available. Their recruitment and retention is a major concern for rural communities and health services; however, a deeper understanding regarding the advantages and challenges of sustaining a rural pharmacy workforce is somewhat limited. The aim of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of pharmacists' perspectives about factors influencing pharmacist recruitment and retention to rural and remote communities. METHODS: The exploratory study, carried out in rural Tasmania and rural Western Victoria, used a qualitative descriptive design. Structured interviews, lasting between 30-60 minutes, were conducted by a single researcher using the Pharmacist Community Apgar Questionnaire via face-to-face, telephone or videoconferencing technology. Data were analysed thematically using verbatim transcription, extraction of significant statements and identification of similarities in formulated meanings, grouping the similar meanings and significant statements that pertained to the phenomena of interest. Specifically, qualitative data were used to provide a deeper understanding of factors identified as key assets, capabilities, or those most challenging for pharmacist recruitment and retention. RESULTS: The advantages and disadvantages rural communities face in recruiting and retaining pharmacists are presented. These insights are linked to the advantages of financial income, incentives and moving allowance. Further advantages include the degree of practice autonomy, breadth of tasks, the perception of the community, loyalty to the pharmacy and its pharmacists, along with community recognition. Challenges associated with the recruitment and retention of pharmacists centred on the need for spousal or partner employment opportunities, having greater proximity to schools, access to social or cultural opportunities, along with good transport connections. Further challenges included housing, the cost of schooling for children, having adequate locum or peer coverage and opportunities to host interns. DISCUSSION: The study provides a deeper exploration of the meaning and experiences of factors that previous research has shown are considered advantageous or challenging to the recruitment and retention of pharmacists in rural areas. Through the voices of pharmacists living and working in a rural area, the findings further enlighten our understanding regarding how the multifaceted and complex nature of health workforce planning may be addressed. As such, greater pharmacist recruitment and retention is enabled through adequate financial compensation and incentives, along with additional tax incentives for business and health services. Further, innovation is required to enhance economic sustainability. Locum coverage and intern opportunities also require innovative approaches to address concerns among potential candidates. Lastly, efforts to enable and support social connections such as schooling and spousal employment, while building community connection and a sense of rural community belonging, remain essential to recruit and retain pharmacists. CONCLUSION: Rural pharmacist recruitment and retention is complex, requiring a multi-pronged approach to implement practical solutions. Given this complexity and the unique features of each rural community, solutions require whole-of-community ownership to create innovative solutions. Recognition of specific advantages and challenges can address key driving factors for pharmacist recruitment and retention in rural communities.
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Peck, Blake , Phan, Hoang , Hills, Danny , Bishop, Jaclyn , Kirschbaum, Mark , Obamiro, Kehinde , Baker, Ed , Schmitz, David
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and remote health Vol. 24, no. 1 (2024), p. 8687
- Full Text:
- Description: INTRODUCTION: Pharmacists serve an important role in rural communities, and in some cases they may be the only health professional available. Their recruitment and retention is a major concern for rural communities and health services; however, a deeper understanding regarding the advantages and challenges of sustaining a rural pharmacy workforce is somewhat limited. The aim of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of pharmacists' perspectives about factors influencing pharmacist recruitment and retention to rural and remote communities. METHODS: The exploratory study, carried out in rural Tasmania and rural Western Victoria, used a qualitative descriptive design. Structured interviews, lasting between 30-60 minutes, were conducted by a single researcher using the Pharmacist Community Apgar Questionnaire via face-to-face, telephone or videoconferencing technology. Data were analysed thematically using verbatim transcription, extraction of significant statements and identification of similarities in formulated meanings, grouping the similar meanings and significant statements that pertained to the phenomena of interest. Specifically, qualitative data were used to provide a deeper understanding of factors identified as key assets, capabilities, or those most challenging for pharmacist recruitment and retention. RESULTS: The advantages and disadvantages rural communities face in recruiting and retaining pharmacists are presented. These insights are linked to the advantages of financial income, incentives and moving allowance. Further advantages include the degree of practice autonomy, breadth of tasks, the perception of the community, loyalty to the pharmacy and its pharmacists, along with community recognition. Challenges associated with the recruitment and retention of pharmacists centred on the need for spousal or partner employment opportunities, having greater proximity to schools, access to social or cultural opportunities, along with good transport connections. Further challenges included housing, the cost of schooling for children, having adequate locum or peer coverage and opportunities to host interns. DISCUSSION: The study provides a deeper exploration of the meaning and experiences of factors that previous research has shown are considered advantageous or challenging to the recruitment and retention of pharmacists in rural areas. Through the voices of pharmacists living and working in a rural area, the findings further enlighten our understanding regarding how the multifaceted and complex nature of health workforce planning may be addressed. As such, greater pharmacist recruitment and retention is enabled through adequate financial compensation and incentives, along with additional tax incentives for business and health services. Further, innovation is required to enhance economic sustainability. Locum coverage and intern opportunities also require innovative approaches to address concerns among potential candidates. Lastly, efforts to enable and support social connections such as schooling and spousal employment, while building community connection and a sense of rural community belonging, remain essential to recruit and retain pharmacists. CONCLUSION: Rural pharmacist recruitment and retention is complex, requiring a multi-pronged approach to implement practical solutions. Given this complexity and the unique features of each rural community, solutions require whole-of-community ownership to create innovative solutions. Recognition of specific advantages and challenges can address key driving factors for pharmacist recruitment and retention in rural communities.
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